"Give me my money"

Cycling the Tour D'Afrique, days 70 to 78, Mbeya to Lilongwe

Distance Cycled: 6,508km

Metres Climbed: 36,488m

Time on Bike: 254:53:21

Time in Truck: 0:00:00

As the tour rolls on, time seems to be passing ever more quickly as we complete the section through our seventh country, Malawi. A country which, in all honesty, I will take mixed feelings away from.

Our route saw us climb out of Mbeya in Tanzania, across the border and drop down to the shores of lake Malawi. For the first time since Nairobi we had dropped below 1000m, and with that came an oppressing humidity. We then headed along the coast for the backpackers resort of Chitimba beach for a couple of days off, which mainly involved fancy dress, fixing tyre tubes and a drinking a little too much punch. We then climbed out of the valley up the escarpment, which included a 20km individual time trial for those of us racing. Back along the steppe we headed inland, along rolling countryside, to the capital - Lilongwe.

Chitimba Beach

Affectionately known as the ‘warm heart of Africa’, Malawi is also the least developed of all the countries we visit. In fact, by any objective measure is also among the poorest in the world. Not simply due to the freakishly cold 120km day in the pouring rain (for which no rider seemed appropriately attired), the famed warmth seemed hard to discern. Perhaps, partly, as I found this section of cycling particularly draining. Heading straight from camp for a coffee shop in Mbeya (no regrets - best coffee in Africa so far!) and combined with the border crossing, the first riding day proved to be the longest for me so far, not rolling into camp until 5pm. I then got rather over excited and over exerted myself on the early time trial. With no time to recover tired muscles, I then battled with fatigue, headwinds and poor tarmac for the remaining cycling days.

Religious influence

Crossing the border it was not only the degradation in infrastructure that was evident, but the consistent cries, in broken English, of “give me my money”. We had experienced a degree of begging from kids in most of the countries we’ve passed through, but here it seemed to be coming from nearly every kid and not an insignificant number of adults too. To my mind this epitomised the negative and unforeseen consequences of western aid in the region. Not only has Malawi failed to show any sign of progress in the wake of huge amounts of aid, but handouts have developed a begging culture and entrenched the idea of the white saviour. The latter particularly concerning for the national psyche if the white man is always seen as the superior - something definitely felt as we travel through. Another worry, is that aid in the form of handouts, simply just acts to prop up corrupt and self serving government. Also more evident in Malawi is the influence of the church and western missionaries bringing further, perhaps even more direct, handouts.

Cash crop. Over 50% of Malawi's exports is tobacco.

Having said all that, exploring the markets of Lilongwe, tasting the street food and getting a lesson in playing the board game Bawo followed by a few local dive bars, and a glimpse of warmth began to shine through. Perhaps another country to revisit at a later date and give it more of a chance.